


I Believe In Something (I Believe In Us)

by all_we_see_is_sky



Series: The Adventures of Lexi Pearce (And Her Superdads) [2]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Ben Mitchell Is A Hopeless Romantic, First ‘I Love You’s, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Lexi Is Cute, M/M, as always
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19837966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_we_see_is_sky/pseuds/all_we_see_is_sky
Summary: “Daddy told me to give you this, I told him I didn’t want to but he gave me £2,” Lexi handed over a small envelope and with a chuckle and a curious look, Callum opened it up ever so carefully, gasping when a hotel booking fluttered out of it and into his palm. An expensive hotel booking.Aka, Ben and Callum spend the night in a hotel and Callum can’t help but spoil Lexi.





	I Believe In Something (I Believe In Us)

**Author's Note:**

> Again, taken from @dingletragedy’s headcanons, the same ones from the last part!

Callum had spent the night at Ben’s. Again. Lately, he had been spending more and more time over at the Beale/Pearce/Mitchell household, half due to Kathy requesting Callum’s presence and half due to Lexi demanding that she see her daddy’s boyfriend again. In order to keep both mother and daughter happy, Callum was rarely in his own flat anymore and had even begun to move clothes out of his own space and into Ben’s, slowly beginning to take up room in his wardrobe and his drawers. Callum would be lying if he said he didn’t love the sight of his own bomber jacket hung up right by Ben’s leather one at the door. Ian’s cooking was a plus too. 

The first couple nights had been awkward and tense, Callum following Ben down the stairs like a no-good fourteen year old only to have Lexi warm him up at the breakfast table with more of her little factoids or silly antics. Callum had loosened up considerably over time, so much so that he no longer felt like a stranger coming down the stairs without Ben, he didn’t feel the pit in his stomach knowing he would have to greet Ben’s family good morning whilst his boyfriend was out at work.

On one particular Saturday morning, Callum had allowed himself a lie in and came downstairs at 10am, unable to stop the smile that took over his face when Lexi beamed up at him like he held the world in his hand. “You had breakfast sunshine?” When Callum had first called Lexi sunshine, Ben had snickered lightly and he had flustered a little, not sure where the warmth for Lexi had sprung up from considering the thought of having kids before meeting Lexi sent a bloodcurdling rush of fear through him. Maybe that was just the fear of having a kid with the wrong person. 

“Mummy made me cereal,” Lexi confirmed and Callum sat down with a slight furrow to his brows as he glanced around the room. Lola never left Lexi alone, not unless someone was downstairs with her and able to keep an eye on her so the lack of Lola was quite frankly worrying. Callum pressed a kiss to the top of Lexi’s head, their normal morning greeting. 

“Where is mummy?” The man hummed, looking down at the masterpiece Lexi had been creating. It was a little hard to decipher, elbows where there should be wrists and fingers the lengths of feet but if he squinted his eyes and tilted, maybe he could’ve made out a family of four people. The thought alone had Callum’s heart bursting in his chest, all he really wanted was for Lexi to look at him like family. 

“Work. She told me to wake you up but you looked like sleeping beauty so I didn’t,” Lexi explained as though her logic was the most reasonable thing on Earth, tongue making an appearance out of the corner of her mouth for just a second as she focused on a particularly tough spot of colouring in. Callum let out a loud bought of laughter, smacking his hand over his mouth as he stared at the girl. God, she was something else. “Oh!” As though it had scalded her, Lexi dropped her crayon and rushed over to the coffee table, practically clambering under it to retrieve something that was suddenly more important than her work of art before returning to Callum all shy and bashful. “Daddy told me to give you this, I told him I didn’t want to but he gave me £2,” Lexi handed over a small envelope and with a chuckle and a curious look, Callum opened it up ever so carefully, gasping quietly when a hotel booking fluttered out of it and into his palm. An expensive hotel booking. “I didn’t wanna give it because I don’t want you to go. But daddy said it would make you both super happy and I like it when you’re both happy, and he promised he would come back after two days so I said it was okay,” Callum shook his head in disbelief, both over the fact that Ben Mitchell had proven to be an absolute sap and his daughter was more demanding and sassier than him. Callum didn’t think that was possible. 

“Why, thank you kind madam,” Callum teased, getting a giggle out of the girl before she went back to her colouring, completely unaware of the mix of emotions welling up in Callum’s chest that threatened to spill out as tears, mainly happy tears. To avoid the young girl from seeing the pool of unshed tears glazing Callum’s eyes, he moved off into the kitchen, making himself some toast and a cup of tea because he would’ve most definitely burnt the house down if he even attempted to turn on the god damn stove. Who would’ve thought that Ben Mitchell would be the cook in the relationship? 

After spending the entire day playing with Lexi, drawing with her and letting her drag him into singing Frozen, at around 2pm he received a text from Ben reading ‘There’s a new outfit hanging up in our wardrobe. Put that on, be ready in an hour x’. The text was simple and straight to the point and Callum ignored the fluttering in his chest at ‘our wardrobe’ and opted for letting out a small huff instead. Was Callum really that oblivious? That he had missed his boyfriend sneaking an entire outfit into the wardrobe? 

By 3pm, Callum was stood nervously in front of Lexi dressed in a fancy three piece suit, hands out by his sides. “What do you think?” He asked the small girl and the grin on her face spread from ear to ear, threatening to split her cheeks in half as she clambered up to stand on the couch so that she could throw her arms around Callum’s middle. 

“You’re the prettiest prince of all. My daddy is very lucky,” she whispered and Callum couldn’t help the quiet coo that wrangled from his throat, instantly wrapping his own arms around Lexi tightly in return but being careful not to wrinkle the carefully pressed suit. Callum felt the wetness in his eyes returning, threatening to spill, so he pulled back to look at the beaming girl. 

“And you’re the prettiest princess, sunshine. He really is lucky, having a little girl as good as you,” there was a knock on the door just as Lexi was letting out a little timid laugh. The pair released one another from their tight grip in order for Callum to open the door, smacking a hand over his mouth when he saw Ben dressed in a suit of his own, a single rose held in his mouth whilst he leant against the doorframe, eyes trailing up and down Callum’s body in a lustful manner. 

“Loverboy,” Ben practically purred and Callum instantly heated, covering his face with his hands. He couldn’t help the indignant squeak that squeezed from his throat, Ben cracking up at the noise alone before removing the flower from his mouth and snapping the stem, placing it neatly into Callum’s pocket. Without another word, Ben walked into the house and into the living room, grunting but following it with a happy sigh as his daughter threw herself into his arms. “Hey, Lex. Did you have a good day?” Ben hummed. “Callum didn’t feed you too many sweets did he?” Ben’s voice was as playful as ever, eyes momentarily flicking up to meet Callum’s. It was only a small glance for Ben, Callum was sure of it. But for Callum everything seemed to click into place, this was where he belonged. Sure he had no doubts about ending it with Whitney, not really, he knew things wouldn’t work out with such strong feelings for Ben but he had no idea just how right it was going to end up feeling. How was he to know he would find his forever home in Ben? Callum almost rolled his eyes at himself for his own thoughts, joining in with Ben to say goodbye to Lexi and put his thoughts at bay. 

When they got to the hotel, Callum was surprised with an expensive meal and an even more pricey bottle of wine to share between the both of them. A candlelit dinner in a Ritz style hotel was cliche, especially with the rose still tucked safely in the front of Callum’s suit, but god if Callum wasn’t loving it with every fibre of his being. The small outdoor section of the restaurant that they seated in was decorated with fairy lights and the gazebo overhead was thick enough to stop any rain from leaking through and destroying the sense of serenity but the gentle taps of the rain could still easily be heard in the moments of blissful silence. Callum had date nights with Whitney but nothing even came close to this, the feelings running through him on a whole other level to the feelings he had when he was with his ex-fiancé. 

“Thank you,” Callum murmured once the meals had been demolished and the wine was becoming nothing but dregs. “This was lovely, you’re lovely,” Callum bit his cheek and moved his thumb in slow circles against the side of Ben’s hand. He was well aware that this trip was as much for Ben as it was for Callum. Things hadn’t been getting much easier with Ben’s father and with everything going on, Callum knew that they both needed an escape for just one night. Life back in Ben’s house could be more than a little hectic, more like downright chaotic. 

“Give over,” Ben’s cheeks turned a faint rosy red, the alcohol thrumming through his veins doing nothing to help. Before Callum could continue and insist that Ben was truly one of the most magnificent people Callum had come across, Ben’s foot had tapped against Callum’s. “Let’s get a shift on, yeah? Didn’t get to see you getting in the suit but maybe I get to see you taking it off,” Ben had the power to make Callum blush like a schoolgirl but nevertheless, the pair abandoned their table knowing that the meal would be payed for at checkout tomorrow and made their way up to the room that they had been assigned. 

Callum let out a satisfactory groan at the sight of the luscious king sized bed, diving at it the moment he was close enough. Ben’s movements were slower as he came to stand at the bottom of the bed near Callum’s feet. Callum barely had time to bask in the feeling of the bed enveloping him whole. No words spoken, Ben slowly started to undress Callum. Sex between the pair of them was normally fast and quiet, unless they went over to Callum’s flat, but even then it was never like this, with Ben taking the time to undo Callum’s shoelaces, remove his belt completely, undo the buttons on his shirt one by one rather than ripping it off over his head. Callum’s gut rolled with a mix of anticipation and pleasure at the gentle movements of Ben’s calloused fingers on his skin. 

Callum removed Ben’s own clothes with just as much care, pressing soft kisses to each expanse of skin that was exposed inch by inch. There was no begging, neither man wanted the other to hurry. Normally at least one of them would be pleading, desperate for some sort of friction or movement but they were both more than happy to take their time with one another. To gently unfold and break each other apart before stitching one another back up with gentle kisses and delicate touches. It was the best sex that Callum had ever experienced, and if he wasn’t grateful for the surprise getaway before, he was now.

Tangled together completely, bare skin touching skin, Callum let his eyes flutter shut as felt Ben’s fingers tangled in his hair. The room was silent, just the faint puffs of breath escaping Ben filling one ear and the steady thrum of a heartbeat filling the other. Callum’s own fingers were dragging across Ben’s stomach, up and down the skin lightly, chuckling at the way Ben’s abdomen twitched beneath his fingers. “I love you,” Callum whispered, not sure if Ben would hear him, if he was even awake to hear him. Callum had been scared of what he felt for Ben at first, terrified because it wasn’t love, he loved Whitney, what he had with Ben was just lust and something else that sparked pure dread in Callum’s gut. Looking back at it, the feelings he had for Ben weren’t dread or just lust, the dread came with the fact he knew that what he felt for Ben was stronger than anything he could’ve ever felt for Whitney, that’s what had provoked fear in him. Now? Callum knew, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind, he loved Ben. 

Ben’s chest stopped rising beneath Callum for a split second before continuing again, heart beat picking up. “I love you too, Callum,” nothing else need be spoken as Callum tilted his head to press a faint kiss to Ben’s pecs.

The next morning, they both agreed to shower separately, knowing they would only end up spending too long in there and using an obscene amount of water if they showered together, before spending the day together in the hotel. The day was wasted in the spa, with both of them needing a massage more than they had realised. “I can’t walk,” Callum had whined when they left their masseuses. His legs felt like jelly and he had felt beyond relaxed laying on that table, like he could’ve fallen asleep at any moment. They spent the last two hours that they had the room for repeating their actions from the night before, becoming completely enveloped in each other only this time they didn’t have long to wallow in the pleasure of it all, having to pack up and check out. 

It wasn’t as hard to check out as Callum thought it would be. He wasn’t dreading it, he didn’t want to expand their stay or run back to the room that they were sharing. A break had been nice, but it had also been an escape from reality. Callum was shocked at just how much he wanted to go back to the real world, see Lexi and Kathy again, see the entire family in fact. On their way out, Callum gasped as they passed a gift shop and turned on his partner. “We should get Lexi something,” Callum declared which only received a short eye roll. 

“She’s got enough tat at home, ain’t like she needs more of it cluttering up the living room,” Ben answered sharply. Callum ignored Ben’s words and walked into the gift shop, leaving the man stranded with the bags. He returned holding a stuffed giraffes toy, looking like an excited puppy as he walked back over to his boyfriend, clearly ready for to explain the story behind the giraffe. 

“You know that zoo she went to? The school trip? Well she saw giraffes and they’re her favourite animal, she couldn’t believe they were real she was so excited, a bit disappointed that they weren’t purple but excited,” Callum explained and Ben tried to keep a straight face, remain unimpressed that Callum seemed to be spoiling her senseless whenever he could but the demeanour cracked and he reeled Callum in for a kiss that was a lot more chaste compared to the ones they had shared prior. Seeing his boyfriend take such a deep interest in his daughter had truly warmed him, they seemed to have a genuine connection and Ben couldn’t be more relieved. He wasn’t sure what he would’ve done if Lexi had continued to hate Callum. 

What neither man was expecting when they opened the door was a flash of blonde followed by an armful of Lexi. For a six year old she had a strong grip, pulling Callum and her daddy down to give them both the tightest hug imaginable. Callum squeezed back just as tight, unaware of the extent at which he had missed her until his heart had started to clench at the sight of the child clinging to her father. Hugs and kisses were shared for ten minutes before the trio made their way to the couch, Lexi perched between each man as they told her a much more PG version of the events that occurred in the hotel. Ben in a face mask had gotten a kick out of her. 

“And I got you something. Close your eyes for me,” she did as instructed and held her hands out when Callum asked her to. Gingerly, Callum placed the stuffed toy into the girl’s hands. When Lexi opened her eyes, Callum was expecting shrieks of joy, for Lexi to hug him tightly again, not for her to suddenly burst into tears looking at the toy. Panic was the first thing that filled Callum followed quickly by guilt until he saw Ben chuckling quietly at her and kissing her head, but not shushing her soothingly like he normally would if she was upset over something. 

‘Happy tears’ Ben had mouthed to Callum, making sure that Lexi didn’t see where she was curled up against Ben’s chest around her new toy. “Thank you, Cal. You’re the bestest ever, thank you,” she sniffled tenderly and moved from curling up into Ben to curling into Callum, the giraffe clutched tightly in her arms. She really was the sweetest and Callum had no problem holding her, whispering a quiet you’re welcome but it didn’t matter as the tears had clearly worn her out and she was fast asleep within seconds. 

As cautiously as he could, Callum scooped Lexi up and took her up to her bed, Ben following close behind. Each of the men kissed Lexi goodnight, and Callum couldn’t help but notice the way the grip on the giraffe hadn’t loosened at all. ‘I’ve got some competition’ Callum thought, a grin taking over his face as he made his way back downstairs, hand in hand with his boyfriend. Perfection was something Callum had strived for all of his life and never achieved, not until now. Perfection had fallen into his lap and Callum couldn’t have been more thankful.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!!! This got way out of hand I wasn’t expecting it to be this long at all. Oops? 
> 
> Feel free to share your opinions down below! Or come visit me @imstillabiggay on tumblr!


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